Tigers are in the news again, but finally we’re hearing from the conservationist side of the story. As Adam Barlow writes:

I hope, for the sake of the tigers, that there will be no further unbalanced attacks the media that are at best divisive and at worse damage tiger conservation. It is much easier to criticize other people’s efforts to save the tiger than to create solutions or come to work in the forest to help save tigers.

While we debate tiger darting in the newspapers for example, more cows and dogs have been killed in Chandpai where we were trying to collar a problem tiger. The same tiger has killed over 60 domestic animals and one person. Livestock depredation by tigers is common in the eastern Sundarbans and man-eating is rampant in the West. Surely these kinds of issues deserve more attention in the newspapers.

As recorded by the BBC news regarding Sirajul’s article “According to Raghu Chundawat, a Delhi-based wildlife scientist who is not connected to the project, any long-term suspension of the radio-collar programme would be a “disaster” for the Sundarbans, and doubts about the safety of the drugs are “absolute nonsense”.” What does it achieve to attack people’s efforts to conserve tigers in the press? I think that the Forest Department’s efforts to save the Sundarbans tigers should be highly commended. The tigers’ only hope is that people can work together in a constructive way and I ask the Bangladesh people to unite behind tiger conservation before it is too late.

For more info:

• See www.sundarbanstigerproject.info.
• The original offending article.

Tags: Bangladesh,Media,Sundarbans Tiger Project,Tigers
Categories: Editorials, Sundarbans
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When the Rocket steamer service first commenced its service in 1956, the vessels may have been some of the fastest water-borne vessels of their time. Eighty years and one refurbishment later, the four Rocket is still “hammering around the Delta,” as travel writer Jack Barker put it, and fortunately only one of the six original vessels is on the bottom of the Buriganga and four remain in operation to this very day. It is Bangladesh’s most well-known journey, and its sloth-like speed is actually quite a pleasure to enjoy.

Some lovely words from travel writer Nick Redmayne:

Take a rocket back to Dhaka and experience a PR opportunity that Richard Branson has inexplicably missed. Bangladesh has pioneered scheduled rocket travel since the 1920s and despite the propensity of other vessels to double as submarines, ‘Rocket’ paddle steamers offer a ride priced within reach of the common man and a safety record that beats the space shuttle hands down.

While I try not to plagiarize Nick’s words for my book, please enjoy this video tour of the ancient paddlewheel vessel, hosted by yours truly:

Some PS additions:

• There’s a paddle-wheel satellite now in operation, which probably did require a real rocket to get it there…
• Quoting from former diplomat Bobbie Bergesen, one realizes little has changed since she took the journey in 1976: Bangladesh can offer no more pleasant experience than that of being a Rocket passenger, watching the water curl endlessly out of the carved fretwork while being borne securely along to the steady throb of the paddles strongly churning (apologies to Walt Whitman).
• Want to book a ticket? If you’re in Motijheel you can go straight to the BIWTC office and get it yourself, a few days in advance is recommended. Otherwise if you’re based in Gulshan, Guide Tours can purchase the tickets for you, and with a small service charge you don’t have to worry about getting down to the BIWTC office. The BIWTC’s office is one block east of Dilkusha Circle I: 955 9779 or 891 4771. Guide Tours is located on Gulshan 2 Circle.
• Want to see some other videos? Click here.

Tags: Bangladesh,Destinations,Paddle Steamers,rivers,Rocket
Categories: Destinations, Sundarbans, Travel
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Some recent controversy has arisen over the work of the Sundarbans Tiger Project, a conservation project based in the Bangladesh side of the Sundarbans.

The issue mainly stems over whether the project is doing good by learning the habits of the majestic animal, or contributing to its demise. Its opponents argue that the drug used in the tranquilizing damages the tiger’s central nervous system. Hossain writes:

Sundarban is a unique place and also the only great ecosystem in the world where Bengal tigers live in saline water system. Life of a wild tiger is extremely challenging and very much depends on the physical and psychological integrity of the animal. For zoo or captive tigers physical wellbeing is enough for her survival. But for a wild animal her physical and psychological performance together only can ensure her survival. There has not been any pharmacological research to find how the above chemicals will affect specially the Sundarban tiger that drinks salt water and eat the intestine of the kill full of mangrove vegetation. Before this research is done and proven safe, there should be no other application of those drugs on healthy tigers in the wild.

However, researchers on the project argue that there is no evidence that the drug causes said damage, and that radio-collaring is an absolutely necessary tool in discovering the habits of the tiger, so that managers can make proper decisions as to its conservation. Adam Barlow writes:

The media has great potential to help in raising awareness about tiger conservation and to garner public support for this precious animal. Conversely, it also has the power to damage tiger conservation by negative and subjective reporting that confuses issues and seemingly deliberately tries to hamper people’s heartfelt and well-thought out efforts to protect the tiger. Surely the job of the newspaper is to provide objective reports on stories so that the Bangladeshi people can use the balanced information to make informed views on a subject.

You can read more from the following links:

• Collaring for Conservation, Adam Barlow’s retort (word document, 300KB).
• Click here for the link to the full article, “Immature science in immature hands?”
• Click here for the link to the original story.

It is our opinion that collaring is necessary and needed for the proper management of the Sundarbans and its wildlife, especially for the Royal Bengal Tiger, who is the chosen mascot of Bangladesh. Without solid research to back up forest management policies, the tigers stand at great risk to human interference. Given the lack of proper management that the forest department has had in episodes previous, we feel that appropriate, international standard scientific research will help conserve one of the last remaining wild places Bangladesh has.

Here’s a video showing the process of capturing the tiger:

Have feedback? Please let us know by commenting.

Tags: Bangladesh,Man-eating Tigers,Radio Collaring,Sundarbans,Sundarbans Tiger Project
Categories: Editorials, Responsible Travel, Sundarbans
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A woman stands with her young daughter while collecting relief goods being delivered from CARITAS. Villagers suffered greatly during the cyclone. Many lost their homes, boats and livelihoods. Nevertheless, people are now busy picking up the pieces and rebuilding their lives. See more photos here..

Dear Donors,

Well aware that this message is late in coming, we would like to announce to you all the final total of the funds raised via this website for the Guide Tours Cyclone Sidr relief initiative that we began shortly after Cyclone Sidr struck Bangladesh.

I am proud to let you know that we raised $1,855 USD by various means.

$1,555 was raised by individual donors sending their money to us directly, and the last $300 was raised by selling Bangladesh travel photography in Beijing. Our friends, Andrea Dowd-Dever and Benjamin Binks, sold our photography at Beijing’s Hutong cultural space.

Guide Tours has told us that they will wrap up all their relief activities by the end of this month, which basically consisted of bringing immediate needs goods to the affected areas. You can read their first field report here.

Once again, on behalf of the benefactors, we would like to thank you for your donation to our effort, and we hope that you can stay in touch with us via this website. Feel free to subscribe to www.joybangla.info using the subscription box at the left.

Travellers take matters into their own hands

In an entirely separate initiative to the Guide Tours relief effort, another individual traveller decided to conduct his own private relief effort with our assistance. Michael Mangano was already planning a visit to Bangladesh to join in our research, but after the cyclone happened, he raised $1,005 from friends and family before coming to assist in the relief of one specific villager of the Sundarbans. You can read more here
and watch a video about our work below:

Tags: Bangladesh,donations,Fundraising,Guide Tours,joybangla.info,relief effort,Sundarbans
Categories: Sundarbans
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1st Field Report from The Guide Tours Ltd. Relief Efforts

On November 15th 2007 cyclone Sidr hit Bangladesh; thousands of lives and homes were destroyed, hundreds of boats and men were lost in our coastal waters. The Sundarban forest took a heavy blow.

Within hours we received word from friends around the world, extending their hands and contributing to our relief efforts. We are overwhelmed by the support we are receiving, and would like to thank all of you. There is no way we can express our gratitude or describe our experiences in the field adequately, but rest assured that your support is greatly appreciated.

Our wooden trawler R.B. Emma left from Khulna on November 21st, loaded with 2200 kilos of rice, 100 kilos of lentils, 100 kilos of salt, 100 liters of soy bean oil, bags of onions, chilies, matches, candles, jerry cans with potable water, oral rehydration salt and water purification tablets (total cost 500 US$), and set out for the Sundarban forest. Fishermen and Forest Department staff at Dubla and Shela char, Kokilmoni, Katka, Kochikhali, Supoti, Horintana and along the way received basic supplies from our crew and members of the Sundarban Tiger Project Team.

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Categories: Sundarbans
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This story republished from the New Age, Friday, Dec. 7, 2007. Because the new age stories do not stay online permanently, the editors of Joybangla.info saw it fit to be re-published here. Photo by Belinda Meggitt.

It is estimated that between 5 and 10 million people who live along the coastal belt and the fringe areas of Sundarban depend on the forest resources for their livelihoods. Notwithstanding the fact that it is these communities who have lost almost all their possessions and livelihood to the destruction that the cyclone wrought, it does not take a great deal of imagination to estimate the impact the government’s latest decision will have on the coastal economy. The reality remains that the forest department, as it is now, is the arch enemy of any realistic and meaningful protection and conservation of Sundarban, writes Mahtab Haider

EVER since cyclone Sidr, the idea that Bangladesh must protect Sundarban as its strongest line of defence against tropical cyclones has been gaining currency among policymaking circles. It has taken the carnage and destruction of a cyclone like Sidr to wake the government to the reality that the tidal mangroves of Sundarban offer a kind of protection to the coastal belt that all the cyclone shelters and coastal embankments cannot. The idea of a green belt along the coast is not new, such proposals have been gathering dust in the ministries for decades, and if history is a key to predicting the future, will continue to do so as the lessons learnt from Sidr give way to less far-thinking and more ad hoc solutions.

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Categories: Sundarbans
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republished from an e-mail message from Guide Tours

Dear Friends,

Greetings from The Guide Tours Ltd. We hope you and your families are well.

Reports and pictures from the devastating effects of cyclone Sidr have certainly reached your homes. Caring words from all over the world are reaching us with concerns and requests to extend a helping hand.

Natural disasters have and will always strike and effect the poorest of our country the most. We cannot close our eyes to the suffering. As a Tour operator we highlight the beauty and diversity of Bangladesh, while also working towards poverty alleviation. We truly believe that tourism can play an important role in our country’s development. Our long-standing commitment towards the conservation of the Sundarbans has been reaffirmed by seeing the importance of our only remaining natural barrier to the sea during this recent disaster. Although the mangrove forest and its inhabitants took a serious blow, many areas further north were protected by the mangrove forest. We are all shaken by the devastation caused especially to the coastal areas, where many temporary fishing villages were completely destroyed and many lives lost. However, we cannot even start to imagine the effects the cyclone would have had without the protective shield of Sundarban.

Some of our guests have decided not to avail their scheduled tours to the Sundarban forest this month. Although we regret their decision, we understand the reasons and will not charge any cancellation fees this month. Instead we kindly invite you to contribute your cancellation fees towards ongoing relief efforts. With your support we hope to rebuild the tourist facilities in Kotka & Kotchikhali, after ensuring the most immediate required relief to people in and around the forest. Our Sundarban Tours will be running as scheduled.

As a leading Sundarban tour operator we are in the privileged situation of having three vessels that can now be used to distribute relief in areas accessible only by boat. Our vessels started assisting the urgently needed relief work immediately after the cyclone hit. We are focusing on the settlements within the forest (mostly fishing villages and forest stations) and the adjoining areas of Sundarban. In the first phase we are taking down essentials such as drinking water and food. Until today we have already supplied over 3 lakh (4,500 US$) worth of food, water and warm clothing to fishermen, forest department staff and villagers. In the second phase we will assist the rebuilding of shelters, homes and essential facilities.

If you would like to contribute, any assistance in the form of money, dry non-perishable foods and blankets or warm clothes is welcome. We guarantee that all incoming support will be used directly for food, water, fuel, shelter supplies and other essentials. We are obviously not a ‘relief organization’, but our local contacts in the affected areas are helping us coordinate the distribution.

The Guide Tours Ltd. family promises to continue doing their utmost to bring relief to those in need.

We thank you for your concern and support.

Yours sincerely,

Elisabeth Fahrni Mansur, CEO
Hasan Mansur, Chairman

The Guide Tours Ltd.
Darpan Complex, Gulshan-II
Dhaka-1212, Bangladesh

Tel: 880-2-9862205, 9886983
Fax: 880-2-9886984

For your information:
1 US$ = 3-4 Liters of Safe Drinking Water
10 US$ = 20 Kilo of Rice or 10 Kilo of Lentils
100 US$ = one day ship fuel required for transport

Details for Donations:

Name of the account:
The Guide Tours Ltd.

Name of the Bank:
Standard Chartered Bank
Dhaka. 2, Dilkusha c/a, P.O.Box-169, Dhaka-1000
Swift Code Number: SCBLBDDX
Account number: 01-1104772-01
Comment: Cyclone Relief

or, please consider a local or international Relief or Aid Organization for your donation.

***
In order to facilitate donations, we (Belinda Meggitt and Mikey Leung) are accepting funds on behalf of Guide Tours via online payment gateway Paypal. You will need your credit card to donate, please see this link to learn more, or simply click the “Make a Donation” button below. You will need to register for a PayPal account in order to donate. On Dec. 7, we will then wire these funds directly to Guide Tours for restoration work in the Sundarbans.

Tags: Bangladesh,Cyclone Sidr,Fundraising,Guide Tours,Relief
Categories: Sundarbans
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